Aug. 4, 2007

Courtesy of Long Beach State Athletics

ROTTERDAM, NETHERLANDS - Team USA (23-8, 2-0 at World Port Tournament) posted their third-straight shutout of the summer, defeating host Netherlands (1-1 at World Port) 11-0 on Saturday evening behind Tyson Ross (4-0, California) and a sellout crowd of 3,000 at Neptunus Stadium.

Ross, who has yet to allow a run in two starts and 14 innings against the Dutch, went seven scoreless innings, giving up eight hits, while striking out four.  Pedro Alvarez (Vanderbilt) homered and went 2-for-3, while Jordan Danks (Texas) was 3-for-4 in the eight-inning, run shorted game.

Team USA scored three runs early, as a first inning, bases loaded single by Logan Forsythe (Arkansas), followed by a double play ball gave Team USA a 2-0 lead before Ross even took the mound. Danny Espinosa's (Long Beach State) single in the second inning upped the lead 3-0.

Team USA then broke the game open in the fifth, scoring three times to lead 6-0. A home run by Alvarez

(5) started the inning, before a misplayed Justin Smoak (South Carolina) double over the head of centerfielder Dirk van't Klooster scored two and gave the Americans a 6-0 lead.

Diegomar Markwell gave up six runs on nine hits over five and one-third innings for the loss, as the Americans added four runs in the seventh to lead 9-0.

TEAM NOTES

It was Ross' second start against the Netherlands, pitching seven shutout innings of two-hit, eight-strikeout baseball on July 28 in Durham, NC.

The game was called after eight innings after the Americans scored two runs in the top of the inning, based on the international mercy rule (10-run lead after seven innings).

Dutch starter, Diegomar Markwell, is the cousin of Atlanta Brave centerfielder Andruw Jones, another member of the national team.

The Americans had more hits in their first two at-bats, then in all of their opening game against Japan (1).

Team USA is 22-4 all-time against the Netherlands.

With Japan's 3-1 loss to Chinese Taipei earlier today, the Japanese fell to 0-3 in the tournament.